Algae can form as seaweed or even microscopic organisms.
Algae make up a large and diverse group of organisms that can be found everywhere, from oceans and ponds to rocks and soil. Most algae can produce its own food using photosynthesis, like plants do, but algae don't have roots, stems or leaves. Some algae species instead feed off of organisms in the water. Some algae are also single-celled microscopic organisms, while others are not. Algae come in a wide range of colors that help scientists to classify and identify them.
Golden-Brown Algae and Brown Algae
Brown algae, known as Paeophyta, occurs mostly in oceans with cold temperatures. Many types of seaweed are made up of brown algae, according to Lenntech. The algae gets its color from greenish pigments called chlorophylls and yellow pigments called carotenoids and xanthophylls, including a specific type of xanathophyll called fucoxanthin that gives the seaweed its brown color. Brown algae accounts for 1,500 types of algae species. Another type of algae that gets its color from the same type of pigments is golden-brown algae, also known as Chrysophyta. This type of algae is found in both freshwater and saltwater. Golden-brown algae usually reproduces by cell division, where cells split and create new cells, but it can also reproduce sexually.
Fire Algae and Red Algae
Fire algae, also known as Pyrrophyta, occurs mostly in saltwater but also occurs in freshwater. Fire algae accounts for about 1,100 types of single-celled algae species. When an overabundance of fire algae occurs in a marine environment, it is known as red tide. These red tides are toxic to marine animals and humans who eat the animals because the large presence of the algae create a high concentration of the poisonous chemicals produced during the photosynthesis process. Another type of algae is red algae, also known as Rhodophyta. Red algae occurs mostly in warm saltwater environments and tropical waters, although a few occur in freshwater, and it accounts for over 4,000 types of algae species. This type of algae gets its red or purplish color from pigments called phycobilins.
Green Algae and Yellow-Green Algae
Green algae, also known as Chlorophyta, accounts for over 7,000 species of algae. This type of algae occurs mostly in freshwater, but it also occurs in marine water. Most types of green algae are microscopic, according to the Science Encyclopedia website. Another type of algae is yellow-green algae, also known as Xanthophyta. This single-celled type of algae accounts for over 450 species of algae, and is found mostly in freshwater. Both green algae and yellow-green algae get their green color from carotenoid and xanthophyll pigments.
Euglenoid Algae
Euglenoid algae, also known as Euglenophyta, accounts for over 800 species of algae. Most types of this algae are single-celled organisms and occur mostly in freshwater. Euglenoid algae are usually green in color and are microscopic. Some types of this algae rely on photosynthesis for food, while other types ingest organisms. The best known type of this algae is Euglena and they are often found in ponds polluted by fertilizer runoff. The presence of Euglena in inland waterways are known to cause a red or green color in the water, according to the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.
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